All-day nurseries can lead to behavioural problems, says Unicef

GORDON BROWN'S drive to push mothers back to work is leaving children at risk of long-term emotional damage, Unicef warned today.

A detailed study of childcare policies found that leaving under-threes in all-day nurseries made them more likely to be aggressive, disobedient and lonely. The Unicef report, which draws on extensive scientific and psychological data, recommends that all children should, where possible, be cared for by parents at home during the first 12 months of life.

Children from the poorest homes face the double disadvantage of being born into deprivation and receiving sub-standard childcare, the UN agency said. The study reignited the debate over whether placing very young children in formal childcare for eight hours a day, or longer, can lead to behavioural problems.

Advocates of nursery daycare often claim children benefit from better language development and turn into more confident, sociable adults.

But today's report states that stable, one-to-one care is the key to the well-being of the child and it suggests that British nurseries are substandard because staff are often "very young, unqualified and transient".

More women are taking longer maternity leave to give time to their children before going back to work.

However, critics have long claimed that Mr Brown's "work ethic" has failed to appreciate the valuable role stay-at-home mothers can play.

The Tories have long criticised the Government's emphasis on institutional nurseries, at the expense of childminders, nannies and grandparents who can often provide more stable and intimate care.

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes has lodged a formal complaint about the UN report, claiming that it contains factual inaccuracies.

The Unicef study is backed up by new figures on the poor quality of nurseries in deprived areas of Britain. Parliamentary answers to the Tories show the number of "failing" nurseries in those regions has almost doubled in the past year.

Maria Miller, shadow minister for families, said that urgent action was needed to ensure the poorest families had access to high-quality pre-school services so the cycle of poverty could be broken.